THE STAG AND THE LION

A Thirsty Stag came to a spring to drink; as he drank he saw his
reflection in the water, and was very proud of his antlers when
he saw how big and branching they were; but he looked grievously
at his feet, and took it hard that they should be so thin and weak.
Now, while he was pondering, a Lion suddenly appeared, and began to
chase him, and he, turning to run, had the advantage, for the Stagís
virtue is in his feet, the Lionís in his loins. As long as the chase
was on the plain the Stag was not to be caught, but outstripped the
Lion; but when they came to a wooded tract the Stagís horns became
tangled in the branches of trees, and not being able to run, he was
caught by the Lion. When he was about to be doomed, he exclaimed:
"What a wretch am I, who was saved and made happy by the very things
which I despised, but have come to my end by what I especially
gloried in."

The fable teaches this, that in like manner, men often think they
have something fine, and get caught by it unawares; or this, often
when in danger those of our friends whom we suspect are really our
saviors, while those we trust, turn out to be traitors.

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